


Night Terrors

by SmallSlice



Category: Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency (TV 2016)
Genre: Cuddles and stuff, M/M, c:, some nice fluff here
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-05-20
Updated: 2017-05-20
Packaged: 2018-10-29 11:52:29
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,001
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10853433
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SmallSlice/pseuds/SmallSlice
Summary: Dirk has some nightmares about his time in the Blackwing facility and goes to Todd for cuddles.( i'm bad at summaries, sorry. )





	Night Terrors

“Dirk…”

“No, I’m fine. I don’t want to talk about it, Todd. Look at how fine I am.” Plastering a fake smile on his face, Dirk was almost certain it wouldn’t fool even the slowest idiot. That wasn’t the point. Point was Dirk just really didn’t want to talk about what happened to him. “Besides, I was even able to keep the Mexican Funeral shirt you gave me. Look see!”

That wasn’t the answer that Todd was looking for, not unless his scowl-y sort of face had changed in time Dirk had gone. Though, that was doubtful. Settling down onto the couch, Dirk bounced a few times to work out the best place for him to lay down. Keeping his sleepy eyes on Todd, who was currently heading towards the kitchen area. Maybe for a blanket or two. Dirk was looking forward to sleeping somewhere soft and warm.

Just as Dirk suspected the first time he was in Todd’s apartment; the couch wasn’t that uncomfortable. Perhaps not as comfortable as a proper bed but Dirk was wholly wiped out and honestly just wanted to go to sleep. It didn’t take him long, literally falling asleep before his head hit the cushions. Assumedly, it was Todd who fetched a blanket, then tucked the sides around his even thinner frame to make him as warm as Dirk could be. That was nice of him and the nicest thing that had happened to Dirk in the past few, um, weeks? Months?

Time had passed a little differently in the Blackwing facility. It wasn’t much of one, truth be told. Dirks room was little more than a dank concrete box, with a metal bench for a bed and a hole in the ground to go to the toilet in. It was ghastly. Not to mention what had happened to him whilst he was locked up.

Not that it should matter now, it was in the past. Now was the present. Now Dirk was safe. Now Dirk was in Todd’s apartment, on Todd’s couch, under Todd’s spare blankets, only a few feet from Todd’s sleeping body. Dirk wasn’t alone, with only his Mexican Funeral shirt to remind him of times past. That still didn’t stop him from tossing and turning, as much as possible in such a small space, caught in the grips of his most recent Blackwing experience.

Dirks own memories warped by his own dreamscape, making everything worse than it had been already. Like that could be possible but his dreams were plagued with faceless beings in plain suits. Any features melting away before his door could be fully opened. Hands turning to claws as they gripped at his arms and dragged him room to room. Ordering him to perform tricks like a circus animal, then punishing him when the universe deemed it unnecessary to point him the right direction.

Whenever he had given them an answer that wasn’t what they were looking for. Dirk was given shock treatments. At first only a low voltage but as time went on and patience wore thin it only worsened. The ropes that bound his arms and feet the chair seemed tighter, only serving to break his skin when he convulsed with the electricity. Despite the pain, Dirk was unable to help them. They couldn’t believe that he was telling the truth. That he wasn’t psychic like they believed, he could only see the interconnectedness of things when the universe wanted him to, and right now it wanted nothing to do with him.

Each time he was shocked, Dirk swore the method changed. One moment it was electrodes plastered to his naked flesh, the next it was an electrical prod, followed by the chair he was sitting on itself emanating a current and over the cycle went.

“Icarus-“

“-My name is Dirk now. Dirk Gently.”

ZAP.

“Project Icarus.”

“Dirk Gently.”

Repeatedly, Dirk refused to let them call him that. He was Dirk Gently, a holistic detective. He wasn’t the project the CIA wanted him to be. Just a detective and not a psychic. Just a normal sane man, doing normal boring things. But with every refusal there was pain. His muscles ached like they had been tensed for hours and his hands were unable to release the arms of the chair.

Dirk just wanted to be given the reprieve of his bench bed in hopes that the cool metal would soothe the aches and pains instead of causing them like usual. Perhaps that would be asking too much. Given how well they had responded last time when Dirk had asked them something simple; like what the time was, or are they going to let him outside for some sunlight. After all, he already was quite pale and it couldn’t hurt to let him get a bit of colour in his skin.

At least they let him keep his shirt, that was the most Dirk fought them. He had screamed at them, with tears on his face. Todd had said this was one of the last ones, Dirk had promised, more to himself, not to let anything happen to it. They had to sedate him in the end but he awoke still wearing it. He guessed that they had taken pity on him. Not enough to let him go but Dirk was thankful for the smallest of mercies.

“Icarus.”

Lifting his head, Dirk stared dazed at the being seated across from him. Maybe it was just easier to defy them in his own head. There wasn’t any punishment there, no more shocks or pain. Maybe just for now, Dirk would pretend to be what they wanted. It wouldn’t be for much longer. Todd and Farrah would burst in any moment now, daring and brave. There might be a few minor hiccups along the way, but that wouldn’t be any different from normal. The Universe wasn’t always the most helpful thing but with Todd’s help, anything was possible.

That hope was what helped Dirk to reply. A simple yes. Though the being had no face, the bottom half of its head split from right to left. The corners of their ‘mouth’ curled up in a mockery of a smile with jagged teeth just barely hidden from view. Clearly pleased with the answer, they picked up a file and tapped it on the desk.

“Now that we have your cooperation, let us begin with a little experiment. Simple enough to begin with. There is an image on one side of these sheets of paper.”

Dirk didn’t need to hear the rest. It was the same test they always performed, repeatedly. Slumping slightly in the chair, he tried to nod along. As disheartening as it was, it reminded him of a dumb little cowboy scribble on a napkin, and his heart dropped a little lower.

A loud slam broke the silence. In his haste to answer Dirk shouted, “Cowboy!” Not even sure what the question was, yet hoping that it was the right answer. Saying nothing, the being flipped over a card. A simple doodle of a blue cowboy. With a look of absolute shock, Dirk only had a moment to peer at the image before the next one was held up.

“Um, a square.” Still no help from the Universe, just a gaping darkness.

ZAP.

Once again, it was the doodle of a blue cowboy. There was nothing different about it, even the creases were the same. Again, the pattern repeated. A card was held up, Dirk answered and no matter what was said, it was always a blue cowboy scribble on a napkin. Despite the back of the card being a pristine white. There had to be a trick, some sort of joke with a punch line coming up. It just didn’t make sense otherwise.

The cards started to flick faster, too fast for Dirk to catch up. Barely able to stutter out an answer in time, Dirk kept on flinching expecting to be shocked. Exactly the opposite happened instead, laughter echoed around the room. Varying in tone and rhythm, as if there were more than just Dirk and the strange being. Even looking around, everything was the same. There was no one else. Just the same concrete room. In fact, Dirk was certain that it would have to be sound proof, especially with what transpired earlier.

“Project Icarus, we have finished for today. We will see you again, soon.” They spoke with monotone voice, like they were bored of their task. Rising quickly, they moved stiffly to a door Dirk wasn’t even sure existed moments earlier and disappeared.

With the door open, a cacophony of noise erupted. The howling of wolves, barking dogs and growling. All coming from one room, but would Blackwing really trap and contain a pack of wolves? What use would they have for them? Dirk wasn’t sure he wanted to know. He wanted to know even less about the guttural screams that came from a feral sounding creature. Not like animal he had read about, but not quite human either.

Dirk shuddered at the thought of what else could be kept in other cells. Almost glad that he was contained in his own little area. Just as the door was about to swing shut, it opened again just enough for one more figure to slip through.

He looked human, more than the last being but there was still something just off. His skin wrinkles were too symmetrical, the grey hairs in his moustache gave off an almost metallic glint. He marched towards the table stiffly, even sitting stiffly, like his body was made without any joints.

“Did they need someone to lie to me?” Dirk tried his best to try and seem unmoved by the man in front of him. He hadn’t seen Riggins yet, but it did seem to make sense that the man who started it would be here at some point.

“You’ve gotten people hurt, Icarus. You belong in here.” Riggins fixed his cold black eyes on Dirk who shrank at the accusations. “You’re dangerous. You’ve gotten people hurt, Icarus. You belong in here.”

He droned on and on, each time getting louder until Riggins was shouting it across the small room. Dirk wanted nothing more than to rip off the restraints and cover his ears. To crawl under the table and away from Riggins’s cold, bleak stare. Riggins was wrong, everyone was fine. Worried maybe but no one was hurt. Todd, Farrah, Amanda and the Rowdies. Lydia wasn’t a dog anymore, even that one detective was able to go back to his job at the station.

Starting to shake his head, Dirk didn’t want to hear what Riggins had to say anymore. It didn’t matter what he thought. Dirk was doing fine without Riggins or his horrible cronies. Putting his whole body into in, Dirk started to tip to the side. Bracing himself to land on the cold concrete, he was pleasantly surprised that it was Todd’s carpeted floor.

Dirk peeked up over the coffee table, noticing that Todd was still sound asleep. Even with his heart pounding, he crawled over and sat on the edge of the bed quietly. Just watching Todd sleep before laying down flat on his back. Dirk looked over and softly rested a hand on Todd’s shoulder. Yes, good start. Even this, such a small gesture, helped to reassure Dirk. To help soothe his nerves and ease his fears but it stirred up butterflies in his stomach. But that was because of a completely different issue.

Careful not to wake Todd, Dirk shuffled closer and rolled onto his side. His arm softly curling over the sleeping figure and his forehead just grazing Todd’s back. Honestly Dirk wasn’t exactly sure what he was doing, but just being close to Todd felt like nice to do. Even the universe was not averse to the pair of them sharing a bed together.

In fact, Dirk felt almost encouraged to tighten his hold on Todd and breathe in his scent. Not that Dirk really needed much encouragement anyway. Tucking his legs up, Dirk mirrored Todd’s position. This was much better than sleeping on the couch. Perhaps more to do with the company than what Dirk was sleeping on. So, wrapped up in his own moment, Dirk didn’t quite notice that Todd had begun to stir.

“What’s going on? Did something happen to the couch?”

Pulling his arms back, Dirk shifted so there was room between the pair again.  Dirk began studying Todd’s face in its half-asleep state. Hoping that he wouldn’t be too upset that Dirk had just crawled into bed with him. With each moment that passed Dirk could hear his heart beating louder. Todd could surely hear it by now, the tell-tale thud, thud, thud. But if he did, he gave no indication. Instead he just gave Dirk a look that said he wanted an answer and sleep.

“There’s nothing wrong with the couch, it’s okay for a couch I mean. I just had a dream about Blackwing and no, I still don’t want to talk about it.” Dirk curled his fingers in the bedsheets, taking a steady breath before continuing. “Just it was bad and I missed you, and when I woke up and saw you I just wanted to make sure that everything was real. That you guys really came to get me out. I’m not sure why that made me want to just sit in bed with you? Honestly, I’m still not quite sure what I’m doing most of the time. I just do it but I can go back to the couch-”

“Dirk, it’s fine, okay? My bed is big enough for us both. Just warn me next time, it’s a little weird to wake up with an extra person in the bed, especially when there wasn’t anyone there earlier.” There wasn’t a hint of annoyance in Todd’s voice like Dirk had expected, just a thick layer of sleep. It wasn’t like Dirk was going to argue. He quite liked being close to Todd and he was just given an invitation but Dirk wanted to be certain.

“You’re sure?”

“Yes, now I’m going back to sleep and so should you.”

“Goodnight Todd.”

There wasn’t much of a response just some mumbling. Dirk knew Todd was right and he should get some sleep but for the moment he just lay there, pulling the blanket up. Within arm’s reach of Todd again and some part of Dirk wanted to go back to wrapping his arms around him again.

It would be easier now, Todd was laying on his back this time. One arm over his head and the other resting on his chest. Throwing caution to the wind, Dirk scooted back over. Resting his face on Todd’s chest, sliding his hand to rest next to Todd’s. This was much better than sleeping on the couch and Dirk was glad that he could even just lay like this.

Feeling Todd shift slightly, Dirk peered up at his face. Still sound asleep it but both of Todd arms came to wrap around Dirks body, holding him tightly. Not that Dirk would complain, or even mention it to anyone else. It was nice to be held and part of him wanted to keep it to himself. So, when there were days when the universe was particularly horrid, Dirk would have something good to remind him that sometimes the universe could also be very, very nice to him.

He could have sat like this for hours. Feeling the soft rise and fall of Todd’s chest and hearing the quiet beating of his heart. He could have, if not for the fact that Dirks eyes were growing heavy again. Except this time, Dirk was happy to go back to sleep. Here he was safe in Todd’s apartment, in Todd’s bed, under Todd’s blankets and in Todd’s arms.

 “I missed you too, Dirk.”

At first Dirk wasn’t sure of what he heard. It was only a whisper, only meant for someone close. Literally someone right in front of Todd. Or in Dirk’s case, underneath him. The next thought was that he was sleeping. A quick pinch of his own hand and Dirk was certain that it was real. Todd had missed him as well. Unable to keep the goofy smile off his face, Dirk looked up at Todd. Not exactly surprised to see that his eyes were closed.

Settling back, Dirk couldn’t hold off sleep for very much longer and there wasn’t much point in fighting it. He was sure that now he would have a great night’s sleep. It was a hunch he had. Something that the universe was telling him in its own strange language. One that Dirk never really had much luck translating but right now it didn’t matter so much.

Things would be different know. Small things were changing. Not all of it would be better, not all of it would be worse. Somethings might just shift slightly. Not enough to make much of a difference. Dirk was already used to all of this. The constant ebb and flow of the universe. There were the obvious differences. He now had friends, he had Todd. Even if what Todd was to him was a mystery. Dirk had a detective agency and it was mildly successful. Having already solved at least one mystery and there being an infinite number of others. It shouldn’t be too hard to find the next big case.

All Dirk had to do was follow the trail of the universe. Which he would do tomorrow. Or the day after. Whenever really. In fact, Dirk would be just as happy to spend time with Todd. They had to have a lot to catch up on. Like what had happened while they were separated and what the entire plan was. Dirk needed the details. Even if it was just to compare notes to help him out with the next time they needed a daring escape from anywhere.

**Author's Note:**

> check out the cool artwork of this fic !!
> 
>  
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>   
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> 
> by [varlovian](http://varlovian.tumblr.com/post/160860907730/dghda-beginner-bang-night-terrors-ao3-he)


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